'No regrets' as Warner turns over to final Test chapter

David Warner, Australia's most successful opener, will bid adieu to Test cricket at his home ground in Sydney with the third Test between Australia and Pakistan, set to begin on January 3. Yesterday, in a press conference in which Warner also revealed that he had decided to call time on his ODI career as well, the left-handed opener spoke openly about his 15-year-long career for Australia. Excerpts of it are given below:

Q: How are your emotions ahead of your final Test?

David Warner: I'm feeling great. It's the great(est) decision I've made, I've got to give back to my family. I'm definitely retiring from one-day cricket as well. That was something that I had said through the World Cup – get through that, and winning it in India, I think that's a massive achievement. So, I'll make that decision today, to retire from those forms, which does allow me to go and play some other leagues around the world and sort of get the one-day team moving forward a little bit. I know there's a Champions Trophy coming up (in 2025). If I'm playing decent cricket in two years' time and I'm around and they need someone, I'm going to be available.

Q: Was there any doubt that you'd be able to go out on your own terms here at home?

DW: No, I said quite clearly in England before the World Test Championship (final), there was a lot of talk about me and my form. I wanted to nip it in the bud early. I said my ideal preparation to finish would be Sydney -- that's ideal, that's fantastic. But I actually had Lord's pencilled in as my last Test (second Ashes Test), especially if I didn't go as well as I did in a partnership with 'Uzzie' (Usman Khawaja) at the top of the order. Then from there, it just followed on that we played some good innings together. I didn't have that hundred (in England) that I always wanted but always eluded me in achieving. But as a team and as a whole we did our bit.

Q: What did you learn from the 'Sandpaper Gate scandal' in Cape Town?

DW: Reflecting back on that whole period, my whole career, I've got no regrets because you are going to have a lot of hurdles you are going to have to jump. There's going to be obstacles in the way, but you have to move forward and I've done that with dignity. I've got a lot of passion for the game and it was important from my perspective that I'm giving back, making sure that I gained the respect back but making sure I'm putting Australian cricket first. I want every young kid who wants to play cricket to dream of playing for Australia and that's what was really important for me when I came back.

Q: Is your legacy that you created a pathway for T20 cricketers to become Test cricketers?

DW: It's easy for me to sit here and talk about playing for your country at Test level through T20 cricket. Fortunately, in my development, I didn't have (franchise leagues) there so I didn't have to make those decisions of going off and playing in those. For me, it was always about playing Test cricket for Australia. We're well remunerated as well with the central contracts, and that's the passion that you have growing up -- to play red-ball cricket for Australia. Today, with so many different opportunities and a lot more money at stake for younger guys coming through, it's a tough decision to make.

Q: How would you like to be remembered as a Test cricketer?

DW: I just want to leave (a legacy) behind that you can go out and play the way you want to play, you can play with freedom, you can play reverse sweeps like Joe Root if you want. You've got the ability to do that and you've got to trust and believe in yourself.